‘We Cannot Be in Two Places at Once’: Luigi Mangione’s Defense Demands His Federal Trial Be Delayed so It Doesn’t Overlap With State Trial

Defense attorneys for Luigi Mangione, who is accused of gunning down the UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, asked a federal judge to move the federal trial date from September of this year to January 2027 in a letter filed on Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Mangione has another trial in New York state court, which is scheduled to begin on June 8. The defense counsel said it would be impossible to adequately prepare for and address both matters, given that the jury selection process for the federal trial would directly overlap with the state case. The government appears to reject this request and should file an answer promptly. “As a result of these competing schedules, Mr. Mangione is now in the position of needing to prepare for two complicated and serious trials at the same time,” defense attorneys wrote in their letter sent to the district judge on Wednesday afternoon. “Though fierce advocates for their clients, defense counsel cannot be in two places at once.” Furthermore, the scheduling “violates several of Mr. Mangione’s constitutional rights,” his lawyers said.Mr. Mangione, 27, is being prosecuted in three separate jurisdictions for the murder of Thompson, who was fatally shot down on a Midtown Manhattan street in December 2024: In Pennsylvania, where he was arrested five days after the shooting; in New York, where the murder took place and where he faces second-degree murder charges that carry a maximum sentence of twenty-five years to life; and in the Southern District of New York, where he is charged with interstate stalking, which also carries a maximum life sentence. Mr. Mangione pleaded not guilty to all charges. The district judge, Margaret Garnett, set a federal trial date for October 13, with in-person jury selection scheduled for September 8. However, she ordered that the jury questionnaire process would begin on April 13. The parties are to send their finalized questionnaires to potential jurors in the week of June 29. This poses a serious problem for the defense attorneys. Justice Gregory Carro of the New York Supreme Court has scheduled Mr. Mangione’s state trial for June 8. Therefore, Mr. Mangione would be in the middle of his state proceeding, when he and his attorneys would be reviewing the answers submitted by potential jurors for his federal case. “Mr. Mangione is now in the impossible position of having to review 800 jury questionnaires during the week of June 29, 2026, while on trial for second-degree murder in state court” the defense attorneys pointed out in Wednesday’s letter. “As a practical matter, this would not be possible,” they went on. Their client is currently being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, a notoriously squalid federal jail, without bail. “Every trial day, Mr. Mangione would be taken to court for trial and returned to MDC later that night. By the time Mr. Mangione returned to the MDC, it would be too late for a legal visit for counsel and Mr. Mangione to review the completed juror questionnaires.” His attorneys added. “On non-trial days, counsel and Mr. Mangione would be preparing for trial and would not be able to spend the required hours to review 800 juror questionnaires,” they empathized. Jury selection, the attorneys argued, is an intrinsic part of any criminal trial, and the conflicting schedules would make it impossible for their client to dedicate the proper amount of time to this important process. “Moreover, counsel will not be able to adequately prepare for the federal trial because they will be on trial in state court,” the attorneys wrote. The defense reminded the judge she had indicated she may be open to changing the trial date during a hearing held on January 30 and cited her remarks from the transcript. “We have to proceed as if this is the only case,” the judge said, referring to the federal case. She added, “unless of course the government or defense or if the Manhattan District Attorney wanted to send me a letter or something, we’ll deal with that as it comes… and should an issue arise involving a conflict between the scheduling that either party wants to bring to my attention, you can certainly do that.” Defense attorneys noted in their letter that the government, whom they had contacted, “objects to adjourning the federal in-person voir dire and trial dates because of the state matter.”According to the defense, the government views “Mr. Mangione’s state and federal matters” as “independent cases” and “indicated that it will respond under separate cover.” While the state and federal government are both trying Mr. Mangione for murder involving the CEO’s killing, the actual charges are technically quite different. While the Manhattan District Attorney brought a nine count indictment, which includes murder in the second-degree (previous terrorism charges were dropped last September), the government accuses Mr. Mangione of interstate stalking, which resulted in his victim’s death. Federal prosecutors argue Mr. Mangione crossed state lines because he stalked his victim, Thompson, who was based in the Minneapolis area, allegedly following the CEO to New York, where Thompson had planned to attend an investor conference at the Hilton Hotel, and where Mr. Mangione allegedly shot him on a sidewalk shortly before Thompson entered the hotel.Regardless of the charges, the crime is the same. Federal and state prosecutors are both eager to try the high profile case. The federal government had planned to seek the death penalty – something not allowed under New York law – but Judge Garnett took capital punishment off the table. Nevertheless, the federal government still wants to try the case.During a hearing at Manhattan criminal court in February, Mr. Mangione proclaimed in the courtroom, “Same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any commonsense definition.” New York has strong laws to protect against double jeopardy, aiming to prevent a defendant from being charged with the same crime twice. As Judge Carro pointed out in a ruling from September 16, that protection is “greater” than that in the “federal constitution” but “that bar is triggered only when a prior prosecution ends in a conviction by guilty plea, or once a jury has been sworn.”When the defense urged the judge to postpone the state case, the judge denied their request, siding with the prosecution. “If this case goes after the federal case, there likely will be no (state) case,” an assistant district attorney, Joel Seidemann, told Judge Carro, insinuating that the defense will likely file a motion to dismiss the state case based on the double jeopardy claim. Mr. Seideman is adamant about trying the case in state court. He has argued the victim was a “guest of our city,” the murder happened “on our streets,” and the New York Police Department did “all the work” in investigating the murder.On Monday, defense attorneys also sent a letter to Judge Carro in a second attempt to dismiss key evidence during the upcoming state trial. In December the judge held a three-week-long suppression hearing during which dozens of officers, who arrested Mr. Mangione at a McDonald’s in a town in Pennsylvania, testified. The defense argued that the evidence obtained during that arrest was seized unlawfully because their client’s backpack was searched without a warrant. The defense raised the same arguments in federal court, where Judge Garnett denied their request. The state judge has yet to rule on the matter. He is expected to make his decision by May 18, when the next hearing at Manhattan criminal court is scheduled.

‘We Cannot Be in Two Places at Once’: Luigi Mangione’s Defense Demands His Federal Trial Be Delayed so It Doesn’t Overlap With State Trial

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